Various types of sensor detector devices are used to analyze chemical samples for traces of explosive materials or other substances. In particular, some such devices are designed for portable use in the field, such as handheld use.
In practice, some of these devices rely on complex automated mechanisms to physically move various components to capture and analyze samples. Although sometimes useful, these automated implementations can add weight and thus limit the portability of such devices. In addition, such implementations can prevent the user from directly starting, stopping, or pausing various operations. Instead, such devices typically require the user to indirectly control desorber operations through various types of software controls.
Moreover, the above-mentioned automated mechanisms may be embedded within the sensor detector device itself and may not be readily serviceable in the field. In particular, if one or more of the automated mechanisms fails, it may not be possible for a user to actually repair the automated mechanism or restore the device to full working order while in the field.
Routine servicing of such devices can also be unduly burdensome, as significant disassembly may be required to access components to be serviced. These various problems can reduce the reliability and overall usefulness of such devices.